Published In
Frontiers in Marine Science
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-9-2025
Abstract
Studies of the resident community of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) of Sarasota Bay, Florida, have been conducted for more than 50 years. Detailed histories have been collected for resident individuals through integrated observations, systematic photographic identification surveys, tagging and tracking, catch-and-release health assessments, remote biopsy sampling, and stranding response. This has produced a unique dataset documenting life history milestones and vital rates of a small cetacean. Analyses of data from 482 resident Sarasota Bay dolphins have revealed estimated maximum life spans of 67 years for females and 52 years for males. For females, predicted age at sexual maturation is 8.5 years, with a predicted age at first reproduction of 9.6 years. Females were observed to give birth when 6-48 years of age, and have been documented with as many as 12 calves, with 45% observed post-separation. Ten percent of females were considered to be reproductively senescent, having gone >13 years without producing a calf. For males, predicted age at sexual maturation is 10 years. Males 10-43 years old sired calves, producing up to 7 calves each. The average calving interval was 3.5 years, albeit with effects due to mother’s age, birth order, and calf survival. Seasonal reproduction was evident, with 81% of births occurring during May-July. Mean annual birth rate was 0.071. Mean annual fecundity was 0.182 births/adult female (defined as females 6 yrs or older). Recruitment rate through reproduction was estimated to be 0.050 based on calves surviving their first year. Immigration was infrequent, with an estimated annual rate of 0.003-0.013. Estimated mean annual maximum loss rate, from mortality, emigration, and changed identification characteristics, was 0.072. Periods of increased loss rates were related to environmental events, and factors that may be important to long-term population resilience were suggested.
Rights
© 2025 Wells, Hohn, Scott, Sweeney, Townsend, Allen, Barleycorn, McHugh, BassosHull, Lovewell, Duffield, Smith and Irvine.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Locate the Document
DOI
10.3389/fmars.2025.1531528
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/43120
Citation Details
Wells, R. S., Hohn, A. A., Scott, M. D., Sweeney, J. C., Townsend, F. I., Allen, J. B., Barleycorn, A. A., McHugh, K. A., Bassos-Hull, K., Lovewell, G. N., Duffield, D. A., Smith, C. R., & Irvine, A. B. (2025). Life history, reproductive, and demographic parameters for bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Sarasota Bay, Florida. Frontiers in Marine Science, 12.
